Author Notes - In this chapter, more of Ultra-Serious Grown-Up Gil!

CHAPTER NINE - WHY SO SERIOUS?

Goby summoned all his courage and dashed towards Gil. The memories he had of most of his Guppy friends may have faded into nothing, but there was one kid he could easily remember from his days in school. Memories of that one kid came flooding back to him, as soon as he saw the spiky blue hair hidden only partially by the helmet.

Gil let out a sigh. 'Sir, I'm busy. I don't have the time to talk.'

'I know that,' Goby said. 'And I understand that you probably don't really care about some dude you don't remember anymore. But, Gil, it's me. That kid you liked to play construction cars with.'

'... And you are…?'

'Goby. We used to be best friends, Gil.'

'Go-'

Gil suddenly gasped. Indeed, that name was familiar. Goby. Thinking of that name brought Gil a small but wonderful wave of joy. But why? Why did that name bring about such a nice feeling? His mind managed to piece together a young boy, with short hair and a toy truck. The details were fuzzy, like an old film reel that hadn't been maintained for decades.

'Wait, hold on,' He said. 'You were the kid who lost his toy truck that one time, right?'

'Uh, right,' Goby said, scratching the back of his neck. 'And it wasn't the only thing I forgot.'

'This is really weird. I barely remember you, but there's something in my head telling me that I'm happy to see you.'

'Yeah. I had the same feeling with those guys.'

He motioned not just to Zooli, but to Oona and Nonny as well. Gil got a look at all four of them. While he could dig up vague memories of Goby, there was almost nothing for the others. Ordinarily he'd brush that thought away and move on. But today, that thought frustrated him. He tried harder than he ever bothered to before to dig up those memories. One thing stood out, though. Something he'd recognise in a crowd.

Joy.

'This might help!' Brianna said. 'You guys were known for some really good songs! Do you ever hear songs on the radio about things like the Arctic, and feelings, and even… firefighters?'

'Sometimes,' Gil said. 'There's this one band I hear all the time. They're obviously meant for little, little kids, but there's something about their music that's really… good.'

The firefighter lady chuckled. 'You're telling me! Look for the firetruck, they're gonna help you out, whenever you get stuck, yeah without a doubt!'

'Yeah, that band. I think they called themselves the Bubble Gup-'

He wouldn't say another word, for his jaw fell right open. The proverbial penny had dropped. He put two-and-two together. Years of listening to those songs on the radio while he did routine work - like washing the fire truck or cooking the curry - and he never stopped to think about who was singing them.

'And how amazing would it be… if that fearless firefighter was me?'

Unlike the rest of the song, which was sung primarily by that super famous superstar singer he'd rather not think about, that small part was sung by a little boy. Gil had never really questioned who that singer was. Unaware until now that said little boy was him.

'You telling me I used to be a part of that band!?' He exclaimed.

Goby smiled. 'Yeah! I know. It's pretty hard to believe. I actually sang back-up on some of those songs. In fact, Brianna here tells me you and I sang a duet about dinosaurs!'

That stone-cold expression of seriousness that had taken up Gil's face had been replaced with surprise. It didn't take long, however, before that stoic expression came back. The kind of look that made Nonny look like a ball of sunshine.

'It doesn't matter,' He said. 'I've got work to do.'

'Actually,' The other firefighter said. 'We just put the fire out. And usually, we're not very busy for a few days afterwards. If you want, you can catch up with these old friends of yours. We can fare just fine without you.'

'But-'

'Oh, go on! You know you want to. And if you're not brave enough to go with them, we'll gladly drive off without you!'

Gil's eyes shot open. 'What?!'

The firefighter crab hopped into the truck and closed to the door in Gil's face. She turned on the truck's engine… and didn't drive off. She just lowered the window and laughed.

'Yeah, I wouldn't do that,' She said. 'But I could if I wanted to. Still, you should hang out with your old pals. After all, you haven't had a day off in a while. You have a lot of vacation time saved up.'

Gil sighed. 'Alright, if you insist. I'll spend a day or two with-'

'YAY!' Brianna cried out in joy.

The young girl gave Gil a big hug around his tail. He simply pushed her away as gently as he could, exerting just enough of his muscle power to move her. It didn't stop from her grinning.

'Okay,' Gil said. 'I'll hang out. Just promise me you won't hug me again like that.'

'IIIII promise!' Brianna said.

'Just let me take the uniform off. It's too cumbersome to be swimming around like this.'

He took the firefighter jacket off, and the Guppies were quite shocked to find that he was rather - to put it mildly - ripped underneath. It was true that a firefighter had to be strong, but Gil was muscled out even beyond that. Oona looked to Nonny, as if asking for permission. And when he nodded for 'yes', she ogled at those gorgeous muscles. Even Goby couldn't help staring a little.

'Yeah, yeah,' Gil said stoically, throwing the jacket into the back seat of the truck. 'Enjoy the view. I've had plenty of ladies - and a lot of men too - 'appreciating' the abs.'

'Uh, Oona, aren't you dating Nonny right now?' Zooli asked.

'Yes, she is,' Nonny said. 'She may have ordered her meal, but she can still look at the menu. I trust her enough that I know it won't go beyond that.'

Gil didn't seem bothered by everyone admiring his body, but he didn't seem to soak it up either. He just stood there, accepting it without showing off. Not that anyone would blame him if he did show off that body, of course.

'Now,' He said. 'Once you've finished looking at my chest, we should get out of this park. Find a place where the vendors won't set fire to their own carts.'

'Hey, actually!' The other firefighter called from the truck. 'I think if you guys budge it up a little bit, there should be enough room for you in the backseat. As long as you don't touch anything, you should be alright to stay at the firehouse for a couple hours!'

'That will not be nec-'

Gil wanted to finish that sentence, but found five pairs of puppy-dog eyes staring at him. And even a super-serious firefighter couldn't fight against something like that.

He threw his head back. 'Okay! We can catch-up at the firehouse. But if you break anything, you're banned for life. Understood?'

Gil was fairly certain he was going to regret it, but nothing was going to stop the other Guppies from crowding into the backseat.

And as the firetruck zoomed off, a certain hotdog vendor emerged from the public bathroom. He saw the burnt remains of his hotdog cart, and slowly came to the realisation that something had gone very wrong.

'Aw, nuts…' He muttered.

Gil hadn't smiled once between getting back in the truck and showing the gang to the firehouse's dining room. Brianna would know. She had been watching his face intently as much as she could. Everything else may have been undeniably 'Gil', but that serious expression certainly wasn't.

'Please stay in this room,' Gil said. 'You can eat things from the fridge, but for the love of cod don't break anything. If you break it, you're paying for it.'

'Eh, fair enough,' Oona said.

Gil had them sitting around a big table, taking his own seat right next to Goby. Everyone had been accounted for, with one exception: Brianna.

'Hey,' Goby said. 'Has anyone seen-?'

'BOO!'

Brianna popped out of nowhere right beside Gil, shouting as loudly as she could. She expected for Gil to scream and run away like he always did. But he didn't. He barely even flinched, giving her the look of an irritated parent. Not angry. Just annoyed.

'Brianna, what the hell are you doing?' He asked.

Since Gil did not react the way she expected, Brianna had no idea what to do next. She stood there, stammering random syllables.

'I think,' Nonny said. 'That she was expecting you to run off like you used to.'

'Oh, right,' Gil said. 'Cod, I was so jumpy as a little kid.'

Brianna frowned and sat down in the only empty chair at the table, which so happened to be right next to Gil.

'Wow…' She said. 'You changed a lot.'

'How would you know? You weren't exactly around when I was a kid.'

'Oh, cos of these.'

She went into the 'Videos' app on her phone. That was where she had downloaded many of the Guppies' promotional videos and clips. So she could watch them any time she needed them, even when she wasn't getting good internet access. Gil wasn't perturbed by how dedicated of a fan she seemed to be at all. After all, he had seen far crazier fans across his thirty-odd years.

'Geez,' He said, looking at the screen. 'How many of those did we make?'

Brianna pressed the first interesting video she saw, holding up her phone so Gil could watch it. From her perspective, it was so bizarre. That little silly boy had grown up to be this stubble-chinned firefighter with a serious attitude and a scar across his eye.

'AAAAHHHHHH!' The little boy on-screen screamed as a pink-haired girl donned a spooky mask and made him jump.

Oona giggled. 'Oh, I remember that. You screamed all the time! And you smiled a lot more too. Right now, you make Nonny look like freakin' Little Mary Sunshine.'

'Oona,' Nonny said. 'Don't say that.'

'I have a very important job,' Gil said. 'And I take it very seriously. Besides, look at this kid. You really expected a kid like that to stay the same way after twenty-something years?'

'I suppose not,' Oona said. 'But you couldn't have changed completely. After all, you still invited us over to have a talk with you!'

'Yeah, I guess I did.'

Gil thought he'd stop watching Brianna's videos after two seconds, but he found himself watching video after video. They were all very short, a couple minutes long at the most, but they were brimming with stuff to see.

'God, I was so much more innocent back then,' He said.

Brianna chuckled. 'Yeah. And you were really funny too!'

One video in particular seemed to catch Gil's attention. It was a video of him and Goby, playing trucks together. Just to advertise their newest song, 'A Job I Can Do For You', which was about construction vehicles. And one of Brianna's favourites.

'Look at that!' Goby said. 'That's me. Do you remember when we'd play together?'

Something happened that threw Brianna for a loop. Gil smiled. For the first time since she met him a couple hours ago. A little genuine smile.

'Yeah,' He said. 'I think I kind of do. Man, those really were the days.'

'You're smiling!' Brianna said. 'You're actually smiling!'

'I have emotions, you know,' Gil said. 'Sometimes I do actually smile. Just not very often nowadays.'

The video kept playing, and right before the glorified advertisement ended, someone else swam into the shot. A little dog, his tail wagging. The puppy ran right over to Gil and licked him all over his face.

'Bubble Puppy!' The younger Gil said, between laughs. 'We're trying to shoot a video here!'

The grown-up Gil's smile turned down at the corners. But not back into that 'super serious'. It was much sadder.

'Oh,' Brianna said, pausing the video. 'Right. It's been at least twenty years. Bubble Puppy wouldn't be around anymore, would he?'

'No,' Gil said. 'He passed away more than a decade ago at this point. I've mostly gotten over it, cos you know, it was years ago, but still. Every now and then, I'm reminded of him. And I still kinda miss him.'

'… Is that why you're so serious all the time now?'

The other Guppies all gave her an awkward look. Brianna's social skills were about as good as you'd expect a child with little opportunities to practise would be. They watched and waited, expecting a foul response from Gil. But the man just sighed.

'That's part of it, I guess,' He said. 'It's a part of growing up. You feel less joy because you've gone through some crap. Your dog dies. Your high school makes fun of you cos you tripped into the chocolate fountain one time. Then you've got bills on top of bills. Your job puts you in situations where if you screw up, someone could get hurt or even die. Some of the things you used to like just don't make you happy anymore. Friends come and go. So does happiness.'

'Oh…' Brianna says. 'Being an adult sucks, huh?'

'Eh, yeah and no. One thing that's great about being an adult is that I have my own life. So that's cool. But I gotta be more serious because that's what the job demands. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't get this scar by tripping on something. I got it because I was too busy being a cocky idiot while rescuing people in a burning building, and a wooden beam fell on my face. I'm not that silly little kid from twenty-or-thirty years ago. I'm just not, and I never will be.'

'... Oh…'

Brianna slumped in her seat. It hadn't really dawned on her until now how much some of these Guppies could have changed. Especially when the greatest change so far was just Oona's sailor mouth. But here she was, face-to-face with this. An admission that the Gil she knew and loved was no longer around.

'That being said…' Gil said.

Brianna lifted her head. 'Huh?'

'I suppose I shouldn't be pretending I'm anything more than that silly kid grown up. I don't regret my times with the Bubble Guppies. In fact, there's still a part of me that… misses that.'

'But you don't have to miss it anymore!' Oona said. 'We're right freaking here, after all!' (Once again, that was a much worse word.)

Oona's blunt and somewhat vulgar way of putting it left everyone a bit taken back. Especially since there was a child in the room.

'I mean, she's not wrong,' Nonny said, shrugging. 'We are right, um, here.'

'Yeah!' Goby said. 'After all, that's what we're here for. Cos Brianna here decided that she wanted to bring the band back together, and here we are.'

Gil sighed once again. 'I suppose I could come along for a few days-'

'You WILL?!' Brianna cried, her smile all but reaching her ears.

Gil flinched - there was a tiny bit of that jumpy child still in there somewhere.

'Uh, yes,' He replied. 'My firefighting crew is brave and strong. I have no doubt that they will do just fine without me, for a few days at least.'

'YEAH!' Brianna said. 'Next stop… The Right Place!'

'... The what now?'

Author Notes - Like I said before, I really wanted Gil to be different from his younger counterpart. While there are plenty of people who don't change too much as they age, people usually change a lot. And a kid as silly as Gilly? That kid's gonna change a lot. Again, I have no problems with fanfics depicting Grown-Up Gil as being a lot like his younger self. I actually really enjoy it. But, well, that isn't super realistic, is it? Because we all wanted realism from a show about singing mermaids that go on wild adventures.

Crap happens in life. Gil's been through a lot. His job (as much as he loves it) is really stressful and has people's lives on the line, and he's had to say goodbye to at least one beloved pet. You just feel less joy as you get older, unfortunately. This is basically what I did with Oona in 'Thirty Years Later' - taking a fun character and putting them through things that result in them being far more serious and standoff-ish - except this time it's actually done well!